Author: Guest
The Mother of All Pregnancy Books is a comprehensive guide to preconception, pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum. The book is divided into 12 chapters plus a series of appendices, which are as follows:Chapter 1: Are You Ready to Have a Baby?
This chapter discusses the costs of raising a child, how having a baby may impact on the rest of your life (your relationship with your partner, your working life, etc.), and how your age impacts on your fertility. Chapter 2: Your Pre-Game Plan This chapter talks about what you can do to get your body in the best possible condition for becoming pregnant (e.g, dietary and lifestyle changes you and your baby's father may want to consider making). It also talks about what you can expect from your preconception checkup. Chapter 3: Sperm, Meet Egg
This chapter discusses the science of conception and what is involved in becoming pregnant. Chapter 4: Missed Conceptions
This chapter is about fertility problems and both high-tech and low-tech methods of treating infertility. Chapter 5: Winning at Baby Roulette
This chapter talks about pregnancy tests, choosing a doctor or midwife, what your due date really means, and how your baby will develop during the months ahead. Chapter 6: Operation Healthy Baby
This chapter talks about important lifestyle modifications you will want to make during pregnancy: e.g., diet, exercise, avoiding cigarettes and alcohol, getting off any medications that could be harmful to your baby, finding out whether you are exposed to toxins on the job that could be harmful and so on. Chapter 7: The Worry Zone
This chapter covers the top worries for each trimester of pregnancy and includes detailed information on shopping for baby gear and your rights as a pregnant worker. Chapter 8: The Complaint Department
This chapter provides helpful advice on troubleshooting common pregnancy complaints like breathlessness and cravings. Chapter 9: To Test or Not to Test
This chapter is all about prenatal genetic tests such as amniocentesis, CVS, and the quad screening test. Chapter 10: Lights, Camera, Action!
This chapter is all about giving birth: whether prenatal classes are worth it, the advantages of hiring a doula, how to tell if you're experiencing true or false labor, what labor is really like, how to cope if your baby is overdue, and what it's like when you finally get to meet your baby. Chapter 11: When Pregnancy Isn't Perfect
This chapter explains why some pregnancies are classified as high risk and how to cope if yours ends up being a bit more complicated than usual. Multiple pregnancies and preterm birth are talked about. The chapter also offers some excellent resources on miscarriage and pregnancy after miscarriage. Chapter 12: Life After Baby
This chapter talks about your postpartum body, how you may be feeling emotionally, and what you can do to make the weeks after the birth of your baby as stress-free as possible for yourself, your baby, and your partner. The Appendices
The book includes a glossary, a birth plan, emergency childbirth procedures, a directory of organizations, a Web Site directory, Statistics (e.g., number of multiple births, place of birth, etc.), and a huge list of recommended readings. The book features helpful charts and checklists which allow you to find information quickly. The book's key strength, however, is its warm narrative voice and the many voices of the mothers who were interviewed for the book. "I feel a bond with any woman who has ever given birth," says Lori, one of the moms in the book. "I feel as if I should become her friend. After all we went through the same things and have so much in common." That powerful mother bond jumps off every page, reassuring you that you're not in this thing alone: you're part of a universal club of mothers who understand the highs and lows of pregnancy and motherhood. That's what makes this such a fabulous book.
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